November 20, 2012

Celebrating artists in St Petersburg

The Russian tradition of paying tribute to its cultural heroes by turning their homes into museums has seen dozens of small apartments, flats and houses turned into shrines to such luminaries as Pushkin and Dostoevsky

St Petersburg museums: Library Desk in Home of Aleksandr Pushkin — The Pushkin Museum was established in the mid-1920s, in the 11-room flat near the city's elegant Nevsky Prospekt in which Pushkin and his family once lived. Above, the library.
Photograph: Massimo Listri/Corbis Photograph: Massimo Listri/ Massimo Listri/CORBIS

St Petersburg museums: Bed room corner in Alexander Pushkin house museum on Moika Street — A corner of the bedroom in the Pushkin apartment.
Photograph: RIA Novosti/Alamy Photograph: RIA Novosti / Alamy/Alamy

St Petersburg Museum: Ornamental Clock in Pushkin's House — A clock in the Pushkin apartment – the shrine to the poet is one of nearly 300 Pushkin memorials in Russia.
Photograph: Massimo Listri/Corbis Photograph: Massimo Listri/ Massimo Listri/CORBIS

St Petersburg museums: Pushkin sofa — Pushkin died at 37 in a duel, and supposedly taking his last breath on the sofa pictured here. In the last few years blood marks on the sofa were tested, and, in 2010, Russian newspapers announced that they belonged to Pushkin.
Photograph: RIA Novosti/Alamy Photograph: RIA Novosti / Alamy/Alamy

St Petersburg Museum: Room in Aleksandr Pushkin's House — The salon in Pushkin's apartment. Photograph: Massimo Listri/Corbis

St Petersburg museums: Children's room Dostoyevsky house and museum St Petersburg Russia — Across the Neva river is the Dostoevsky apartment, which contains a theatre and exhibition space devoted to the author's life and literary accomplishments. Above, the children's room.
Photograph: Peter Forsberg/Alamy Photograph: Peter Forsberg / Alamy/Alamy

St Petersburg museums: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Chaliapin Museum — A tour of another famous apartment museum, that dedicated to Feodor Chaliapin, ends in a large music room, where recordings of the singer play as poignant reminders.
Photograph: Hemis/Alamy Photograph: Hemis / Alamy/Alamy

St Petersburg museums: Fyodor Chaliapin in Rimsky-Korsakov's — Chaliapin in 1913 in his signature role of Boris Godunov, from the Mussorgsky opera. He created his interpretation of the role while studying with composer Rachmaninov.
Photograph: Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis Photograph: Gianni Dagli Orti/ Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS

St Petersburg museums: Statue of Alexander Pushkin — Statue of Pushkin on a bench in Alexander Park, in St Petersburg. For details on visiting the Pushkin Museum, see museumpushkin.ru/eng.
Photograph: Steve Raymer/Corbis Photograph: Steve Raymer/ Steve Raymer/CORBIS

Leave a Comment Cancel comment